Colorado Matters host Ryan Warner with the moose he did see in front of the State Forest State Park visitor's center.

(Photo: Courtesy of John Gwinner)

Recently on Colorado Matters, two travel experts told us about places in the state where moose abound. I have never seen a moose and I asked listeners for their photos of moose encounters. Submissions arrived almost immediately.

But I had to see these creatures for myself. So a friend and I jumped in the car and headed for Colorado's North Park region, which the state legislature once proclaimed "Moose Viewing Capital of Colorado."

We started with a hike in State Forest State Park. Although we found fresh scat – meaning a moose had recently crossed our trail – no moose was to be seen. So we headed off for lunch at – where else – the Moose Creek Cafe in tiny Walden, Colo., population 585. There, server Sherry Beissel told me about the pair of moose that recently camped out in her yard. She took a video of one eating snow there.

Sherry Beisel, who works at the Moose Creek Cafe in northern Colorado, took this video of a moose eating snow outside her home in Walden, Colo.

After lunch, we decided on one more try, and headed over to Routt National Forest. It was idyllic – we stopped to watch ducks paddling on a pond – and again we saw fresh scat. Alas, that's all we saw, and when thunderheads began to gather, we called it a day. No moose for me.

Moose viewing comes with risks, as we learned from one state official, but it can also be rewarding to see them in their breathtaking Colorado habitat. (That's if you get to see them!)